Thread: TDV8 Drive day in Sydney. Long

Afternoon all,
Well all I can say is that the TDV8 is an exceptional vehicle to drive.
Whether it be the LM RR Vogue or The LS RR Sport.
I arrived in Sydney Thus night (left Melb at 7pm & arrived at the hotel at 11:55pm-thanks Dick Cheney) pretty much just a quick look around the hotel before I went to sleep, does anybody else think that hotel pillows are really really s*#t!?
After not a lot of good sleep I awoke at 6:30am to have a nice shower & then head off downstairs to get some “energy” food. I helped myself to some very nice breakfast & then went back up to clean the remaining bits from my teeth & pack to meet in the foyer & then shuttled to the PAG HQ in Nth Ryde.
Upon arrival we saw in the car park the 6 vehicles we would drive during the day, these vehicles consisted of 2 LM RR Vogue TDV8’s, 2 LS RR Sport TDV8’s & 1 each of the Supercharged variant just for comparison.
We then were given our passes & headed off to the training centre, where there was 1 more each of the TDV8 vehicles for us to have a quick look at. We were split into 2 groups & one did the drive in the morning & the others (me included) did the theory first & the drive in the afternoon. The theory consisted of looking at the difference in the outgoing TD6 motor in the LM RR & that of the new variant. The new specs on the Sport & where they both sat in the new line up. Very sales orientated but I had to put up with it.
Also a note on the LM RR Vogue, there are now only 2 engines in the lineup now The TDV8 & the SuperCharged. The LS RR Sport now has 4 engines, 2.7TDV6, 3.6TDV8, 4.4V8 & 4.2V8 S/C.
I wont bore you all with the whole theory content but just some figures for those who are interested.

LM RR Vogue - TDV8
RRP for the TDV8 is Approx $140,900 + ORC etc.
Power is 200kw (64% more than the outgoing TD6)
Torque is 640Nm (54% more than the outgoing TD6)
Fuel Consuption is the same as the TD6 (maybe marginally better!)
Gearbox is now the ZF 6 speed Commandshift unit. Previously a 5 spd.
Front Brakes are now upgraded to the Brembo unit 4 pot variants.
19” rims are now std.
Interior has also been re-vamped as it now incorporated the Terrain response system. http://www.landrover.com.au/au/en/Vehicles/Range_Rover06/interior/Overview.htm?

LS RR Sport – TDV8
RRP for the TDV8 is $112,890 + ORC etc.
Power is 200kw
Torque is 640Nm
These figures are obviously the same but a reminder that the vehicle is lighter & smaller than the Vogue model. So performance is very noticeable.
Fuel consumption is 11-13L/100km combined. (these figures aren’t printed as such, but I had noticed the figures on both Sports prior to & at the end of the drive days. We were the last group at the end of the week & the combined figures we had were 13.1 & 12.9L/100km.) Both vehicle were driven Hard & then had to come back to Nth Ryde via Sydney traffic down Lane Cove Rd!!
Brembo’s are now standard (on both the TDV8 & S/C) as is Dynamic Response (Similar to ACE in the D2, but much better).
19” rims are also Std on TDV8.
TDV8 Sport gets the Aluminium look front grille & side vents.

The Drive…
We left PAG HQ in Epping Rd Nth Ryde & made our way Nth along Lane Cove Rd which then became Mona Vale Rd, we turned left into McCarrs Creek Rd, Left again onto West Head Rd Via a toll booth & into the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
This led to a lookout at West Head. Vehicle swap.
The roads are all very very nice, hairpin turns, sweeping bends, long straights & a good workout for all the systems the vehicle has. Dynamic Response in the Sport is just sensational, no leaning into corners & the vehicle sits remarkably flat for a 2tonne + beast.
The dampers in the Vogue have been changed also which has changed the vehicles on road manners, the vehicle has had all the suspension upgrades from the SuperCharged dropped into this beast, which gives good handling characteristics.
We left West Head & headed towards Cottage Point via Liberator General San Martin Drive(who thinks of these names!?) along the river, very nice part of the world I must say. We stopped for an Iced Coffee & ChocolateBananaCoconut muffin at the Boathouse, bit of a discussion about the vehicles & just relaxed. Vehicle swap. Then headed back into Sydney via the same route but stopped into the St Ives Showground for a chat & another vehicle swap. The final drive back to PAG was slow due to the build up in traffic on a Friday afternoon, I must say though the Brembo’s are just sensational they just STOP u again & again.

The vehicles “behaved” very well, Handling was extremely good & remarkably fuel consumption was surprisingly good. The vehicles did get a hard workout that week, everybody stuck the boot in to see what these would do…they did Bloody Good.
The TDV8 is very quiet, cant really tell it’s a diesel until u start to accelerate, then a hint of diesel clatter appears (not much though) The Vogue has had extra sound deadening fitted & the front windscreen & front side glass are both double insulated (thicker than previous) to get rid of road noise & noise in general.
Its remarkably good to sit in a diesel a have a chat quietly with the radio crystal clear. Something that’s a little difficult in a TD5..I am saving I promise..

While at the training centre we had a sneak peak at the new Freelander2. It was the petrol variant 3.2Ltr inline 6 cylinder.
Vehicle is remarkably bigger than the outgoing variant & was very nice, kind of looks like a Mini RR Sport.. That course is next month.

Should have brought them to the Watagans!!!

LRH